Expert Home Security Tips: From Simple To Advanced

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Marleny Hucks
Marleny Huckshttp://MyrtleBeachSC.com
Marlene (or Marleny as she is known in Spanish) is a mentor, teacher, cross-cultural trainer, storyteller, writer, and for those who have been under her leadership or simply sat across the table from her, she is a mirror of destiny. Her love of word and image were formed early on by one of her heroes, Dr. Seuss. If you asked those who know her well, they would describe her a compassionate, funny, wise, curious, honest, real, strong, sensitive and totally human which comes out as she teaches and writes. She sees all of life, even the most mundane, through faith and believes that who we become as we live this side of the veil is what matters not the journey itself or our circumstances. Marleny Hucks has spent her life crossing bridges. She comes from a diverse background of ministry roles and contexts as well as has transitioned in and out of the business world. Having lived outside the country as well as traveled extensively she has a fascination with culture causes her to live her life within a global mosaic no matter where her feet are planted. Marlene currently lives in South Carolina with her husband David, who owns a news company but who she says is a “crime fighter”, bringing light into darkness in their systems of their city. Marleny currently works as a content management specialist covering Myrtle Beach News for MyrtleBeachSC News.

Every homeowner should look to keep their property as secure as possible. If you live in the house yourself, you want it to be secure so you feel safe living there. Particularly if you have a young family – there’s nothing worse than feeling unprotected and unsafe in your own home. If a break-in occurs when you have kids, it could scar them for life. 

Then, you have property owners that might be renting out their homes. Here, you still need to focus on security to keep your tenants safe. An unsafe home won’t attract many tenants either, so think about that as well! Plus, if your tenants suffer a break-in, all of the financial responsibilities still fall on you. You own the home, so you still have to pay to fix any structural damages that happened. 

Even if you’re planning on selling a home, a focus on security will be beneficial. Homeowners want to live somewhere safe, so the safer your property is, the more its value could increase

Basically, this all boils down to one key point: you need to bolster home security. How can you do this? Below, you’ll find a series of tips that go from simple steps to more advanced measures. Check them out, and pick whichever ones you think will benefit you the most!

Get new locks

One of the first and easiest things you can do to improve home security is to get new locks for all the doors and windows in your home. There are many different types of locks you can use on doors, and some are better than others. A deadbolt lock is generally considered the most secure because it is harder to turn from the locked to the unlocked position. 

Ideally, you should change all of the locks to something that is harder for people to a) break with force, and b) pick. Adding some extra security to your front and back doors in the form of a latch can also be beneficial. Here, you have a chain that connects to a latch, meaning that the door won’t open even if someone does manage to unlock the door. Think of it as the last line of defense – it works really well. 

Upgrade your home security system

Every home should have a security system that alerts you when someone is breaking and entering. Most systems are simple; there’s an alarm connected to your doors or windows, and if someone gets through them when the system is on, the alarm sounds. These systems are usually connected to the authorities of a security team as well, alerting them of the break-in, so they can come and take care of things right away. 

Unfortunately, most homeowners neglect their security and alarm systems. In fact, some don’t even arm their homes when they go to sleep at night. So, be sure you test your system to see if the alarm works, then program it to be active when you leave the house or go to sleep. This might mean that, when you enter your home, the alarm goes off. But, you know the code, so you can turn it off right away. If your current home security system doesn’t work, you should upgrade it. Get a better alarm, and you can possibly install things like motion sensors in each room that go off when motion is detected at night. The simple presence of an active security alarm outside your property can also deter criminals as they see that it’s on. 

Stronger windows & doors

The next idea requires slightly more work, but it’s still a simple step you can take to bolster home security. Your windows and doors represent entry points for someone that’s trying to break in. Therefore, you need these points to be as strong and secure as possible. Single-glazed windows or weak front doors can very easily be kicked down and broken. This can be done in an instant, meaning someone can quickly enter your home, grab things, and run off before anyone can be called to the scene. Needless to say, this is also one of the most terrifying ways you can be robbed. 

So, installing some stronger windows and doors is a good precaution to take. Ideally, you want a reinforced front door with metal inside the frame, making it super harder to break through. With windows, you want frames that are super sturdy, along with double-glazing at the very least. Companies like OKC Windows Doors can provide installations like these – they’re very common and not hard to get hold of. Now, you should have a stronger exterior to your home, with all the entry points being reinforced. It will be much harder for someone to try and enter your property by force without you being alerted and having the time to call for help. 

Install a gate/fence

If you have a front yard or some space between your house and the street, it can be beneficial to add an extra barrier between your home and members of the public. Here, the best option is to install a gate and fence at the front of your driveway. It means that people have to get past the fence to get to your home. Put your mailbox by the gate for the postpeople to put your letters and packages in, and it could stop unwanted visitors from coming up to your property. 

From a criminal’s perspective, a home with a gate and fence is a lot harder to break into than one without one. Immediately, your house looks like a less attractive proposition for them. Especially if there are other homes with less protection nearby. 

Get a CCTV system

A slightly more advanced idea is to get a CCTV system for your home. This requires the installation of cameras around and inside your property. They can often be monitored via mobile apps, and they let you see if anything suspicious is happening. For instance, you can check the tapes to see if someone always seems to hang out around your house at the same time. This could indicate a criminal that’s scoping out your property and getting ready to break in when they learn your schedule and when you’re out of the house. 

CCTV cameras will catch everything, and they also scare away burglars. It would be very unwise for someone to try and break into a house that has a CCTV system installed. The chances of them getting caught are very high as the cameras will catch everything. 

A slightly simpler version of this would be to get something like a Ring doorbell. Any doorbell with a camera built-in can give added security as you see who comes up to your home and could catch criminal activity – like someone stealing your mail!

Install an advanced access system

This is basically a more advanced version of changing the locks in your house. An access system requires people to have something that lets them access your home. For example, a code that can be typed onto a pin pad, unlocking the door. Or, even more advanced, a fingerprint scanner that only lets certain people have access to the property. 

Something like this is probably more common in apartment complexes than houses, but you can install one in your home if you like. It gives you an extra barrier of security that’s harder for someone to breach. 

Try any or all of these home security tips if you want to make your property a safer place to live. 

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